Welcome From Our Captains

It is such a great honor to be Lady Captain of AGC. I feel there are exciting times ahead for us as members, with a new Management Structure in place and our course looking and playing the best it ever has. This year sees the club celebrating its 90th Anniversary which we hope to celebrate throughout the year so please come along and join in on the celebrations. I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all our visitors for the coming year ahead and hope they enjoy our Course and Clubhouse. I look forward to kick starting our golfing year at the Captain’s Drive In on March 11th and wish all our members a very enjoyable year of golf. Bernie To become Captain of Arklow Golf Club is both an honor and a privilege not only for me but also my family. As we celebrate the 90th anniversary of our club I would like to thank all the people in the past who have given their time selflessly and have brought the club to where it is today and I look forward to working with the new management committee to help bring our club to a bright prosperous future. I wish all our members and visitors a very happy golfing year. Mark

Special Events for March 2017

Our Captains drive in takes place on 11March @ 12:30 please come and show your support for Mark, Bernie, Charlie, Nellie, Eoin , Megan as they kick off the new golfing year. The drive is followed by a 4 person team event the draw for which takes place @ 12:00. Register in club house from 11:00. Cost for golf and meal is 10- euro P/P. The next round of the Mini Alliance  takes place in Delgany Golf Club on Thursday 23rd March, ring Delgany GC for bookings Final of the Winter League takes place on 5th March best of luck to all the finalists 

Management Committee Update

Up to very recently, I didn’t know what a management committee was. After 58 years as a member of Arklow Golf Club I was plucked from obscurity (a bit like Pope Francis, but there the similarity ends) and made a trustee of the Club. Some weeks later Bob informed me I was to be given a rapid promotion and made Chairperson of the Management Committee. I protested saying I didn’t possess any of the qualities required for the role. Bob agreed with me but then did what Trump does – he issued a waiver and said now Jimmy you are fully qualified for the job so let’s start work.

So to be serious for a moment it is an interesting time in the planning and development for the future of our club. The Strategic Plan 2017-2022 approved by the members at the AGM in November is the real focus of our efforts. The Strategic Plan identified six core areas to be addressed namely, Governance, Finance, Marketing, Membership, Course and Communications. There is  a lot of work to be done to achieve the targets we set ourselves. Fortunately, there has been a great response from the members and over 20 willing volunteers are now busy working on subcommittees to develop the six areas together with other issues relevant to the development of the club. The management committee will be focused primarily on delivering the promises made to the members at the last AGM and I am fully committed to achieve what we said we would achieve. We will be keeping a tight rein on expenditures.

Any proposals from the members through the ladies and men’s committees which involve expenditure must go through a rigorous process before being considered by the management committee. Our income streams are reviewed monthly and any variances from budget estimates are analyzed in detail. We have made an application to OSCAR for grants to develop junior golf, replace machinery, replace one of the water storage tanks and upgrade the ladies and gent’s locker rooms. The next two years will be difficult but I have no doubt all will be well provided we work together as a team and put our club first always. Most important we must keep in mind that our priority is to enjoy our golf and the friendly interaction that exists, daily, in our clubhouse. In the meantime, your committee will carry on with the work and if you have any ideas or criticism that you feel should be addressed do let us know – but be positive always and remember it is your club and be proud of it. Jimmy 

Men’s Club Update

The men’s teams have been very busy over the past few weeks competing in the Garden County competition and have put on a great showing for the club well done to all involved. The winter league final takes place on Sun 5th March this year’s competition has been the most successful to date. The Super Senior’s kick off in early March best of luck to all competing. Keep an eye on the notice boards for upcoming inter club matches and put your name down if interested in representing the club.

Ladies Club Update

The ladies section is getting ready for a busy year of golf. This year we started off by introducing a Winter League which is still going on at the moment and has attracted a lot of interest. Inter Club Teams will commence towards the end of March and we would like to thank all the ladies who are representing the Club in these matches and ask all our members to support these teams, home or away. This year we are delighted to announce that we will be taking part in the programme run by the CGI “Get into Golf for Ladies”, which we hope will start in April this year. This is a great opportunity for ladies to try golf for the first time. For further details on this programme please contact Lady Captain Bernie. To enable the club to keep you up to date with upcoming events, please ensure your mobile number and email address is up to date on your BRS profile, you can contact the office if you need assistance with this. Happy Golfing.

Junior Club Update

It has been a quiet time for the juniors so far, this year but plans are now in place to get our juniors out to the driving range in Gormanstown in mid-March for 4 weeks up to the start of their session in early April. The Junior section is looking for volunteers from parents and any interested members who would like to help with the running of the Junior club. Garda vetting will be required for all adult volunteers Plans are afoot to promote our club in the local National and Secondary schools to help raise awareness of the club for young people in our town, and hopefully this will help increase the numbers of our Junior section.   The Junior section will be applying to Wicklow County Council for a development grant that may be used to fund an open fun day for Juniors to come and have a go on our course.

Course Update

One of the many charms of the game of golf is that is that it is played in a variety of settings and on a variety of terrains. As members of Arklow Golf Club we are privileged to be custodians of one of the 58 links courses in Ireland. Links golf although difficult by nature can give enormous pleasure from its many aspects that stand out. These include the beauty of the tall fescues blowing in the wind or the thrill of exploding out of a deep revetted bunker or trying to punch a ball low into a strong head wind and holing a long put on a fast-contoured green. These are aspects of links golf that live long in the memory and bring us all back in the hope that the golfing god’s will smile down on us and we have the round of our dreams. Links golf courses will become even more unique as both the links terrain and existing golf courses disappear as they lose the ongoing battle with the sea. Coastal erosion and rising sea levels continue to threaten links courses especially low lying courses like Arklow. It is up to us to help preserve our links and so it can be enjoyed now and into future generations. It is planned in future newsletters to cover both the management and maintenance plan in operation for our links, because how we manage the course has both a fundamental impact on the future success of the club and determines the type of golf to be played. As part of our winter maintenance the cutting back of the heavy rough has begun and will continue into March along with a spraying program to help kill the problem grasses. Martin 

Notices

A big congratulation to the links restaurant who have been nominated for Best Restaurant in Wicklow award by the Restaurant Association of Ireland well done to all the team.   All club results are available on the club website, Clubify and notice boards in the club house. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new members and hope they enjoy there golf with us. Paul McDonald, Pat Morrisey, Jonathan Groome, Peter Hagan, Shane Byrne, Jamie McDonald, Joseph Kelly, Gerald Kelly, Denis Gordan, Andrew Benjamin, Gerry Tuohy, Stephen Byrne (returning from sick leave) and Johnny Kennedy (Junior member). If anybody has any ideas or articles that they would like to see included in the newsletter, please let any of the communications committee know. Closing date for submissions for the April Newsletter is Friday 24th March. Sponsorship of the newsletter is also being sought so if you would like to see your company or business logo in the newsletter please contact one of the communications committee.

Pro Shop

Why not drop in to see our Pro Richard or Mark in the pro shop who can take care of all your golfing needs be it lessons, equipment or club branded apparel all at competitive prices.

Bar & Restaurant

Why not join us in the bar or restaurant after your round on the links for a refreshing drink or something from our extensive menu. All major sporting events can be viewed on our big screen TV’s. The bar and restaurant are available for booking for your special events be they birthdays, communion, office nights out etc.

Captain's Drive in March 11th. Music by Alvin Kenny 6-8pm .

Progressive 45 starts in Arklow Golf Club on Wednesday March 1st @ 8.30pm Sharp Entry €10

Proceeds will be used to buy plants etc. to give the grounds around the Clubhouse a Facelift

Quote of the Month: Amelia Earhart,

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.

Thanks

A word of thanks to Barry Hickson, Eddie Gleeson, Nial Gilfoyle and Tom Carty for sponsoring the printing of the Strategic Plan and a thanks also to Richard Dignam for repairing the bar counter top and finally a thank you to both Liam Mc Garth and Larry Devereaux for there sponsorship of this edition of the Arklow Golf Club Newsletter.